MAKEA INDUSTRIES GMBH

Their core work

Makea Industries is a Berlin-based SME operating at the intersection of digital fabrication, makerspace culture, and participatory design. They bring hands-on prototyping and maker methodology into EU research projects focused on education, healthcare, and science policy. Their core contribution is translating co-design principles into tangible prototypes and fabrication workflows, bridging the gap between community engagement and physical product development.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Their early work (2017) centered on makerspaces as educational tools — bringing digital literacy and creativity to early childhood settings. By 2018, their focus shifted toward broader societal applications: digital fabrication for inclusive healthcare and co-design methodologies for shaping science and innovation policy. The trajectory shows a move from education-specific maker activities toward systemic design interventions in public services and governance.

Moving from maker education toward applying participatory design and fabrication methods to societal challenges like healthcare access and innovation policy.

How they like to work

Always participates as a partner, never leading consortia — typical of a specialist SME contributing domain expertise rather than managing large projects. Despite only 3 projects, they have worked with 44 unique partners across 22 countries, indicating they join large, diverse consortia where their maker/fabrication expertise complements academic and policy partners. They appear to be a trusted niche contributor rather than a project driver.

Remarkably broad network for their size: 44 partners across 22 countries from just 3 projects, indicating participation in large pan-European consortia spanning universities, research institutes, and public bodies.

What sets them apart

They occupy a rare niche as a commercial makerspace/fabrication company that participates in social innovation research. Unlike pure consultancies or academic fab labs, they bring industry-grade making capabilities with a strong participatory design philosophy. For consortium builders, they offer practical prototyping capacity combined with experience in citizen-facing co-creation — useful for any project needing to turn ideas into tangible demonstrators.

Highlights from their portfolio

• MakEY
  Largest funding (EUR 45,000) and directly aligned with their core makerspace identity — enhancing digital literacy through making in early years education.
• SISCODE
  Connects co-design and prototyping directly to STI policy making, showing their ambition to influence systemic innovation beyond individual products.